Monday, October 19, 2015

Sunday: Another Rondeau Round

Once again I headed down to Rondeau Park early.  We set up at Dog Beach for another lakewatch.  This location is usually the best spot for a lakewatch on various winds.  Perhaps NE is the best, but this day it was a strong NW.  The lake was calmer than Saturday and visibility was much better (cloudy skies).
A different mix of birds was seen including several different duck species.  Our first Long-tailed, Common Goldeneyes and Bufflehead were passing by, among others.
There were fewer loons and grebes, but more cormorants and scaup than the previous day.
Shorebirds included Black-bellied Plover and several Dunlin.

Dunlin Duo


One of the more interesting things is to see small birds come in directly off the lake.  Whether they abandoned their lake crossing in migration, or for other reasons, it is neat to see them come in from way out, head for the shoreline and dive into the vegetation.
This day we saw pipits, American Robins, 3 American Woodcock and perhaps the most amusing was a male Eastern Towhee that went right by us. Others remained unidentified.



After a little over an hour, Steve an I headed for south point trail.  There were hardly any passerines on our walk towards the lake, but on the way back, some decent pockets of birds kept us busy.  Several Blackpoll Warblers, a Nashville and a Tennessee or two were among the Yellow-rumped Warblers.



Many passerines and other birds come up rare on eBird when they really are not.  The eBird filters for Chatham-Kent need some serious modification!  Indeed some of these are scarce, but no need for them to come up rare and and overwhelm the eBird reviewer!  JMO.



It was a good day for hawk migration.  Many types went overhead including Red-shouldered. The Turkey Vulture migration was even more spectacular than the previous day as thousands moved along the Lake Erie shoreline.  Nary a Black Vulture was with them!



I checked Ridgetown Lagoons on the way home, but just Canada Geese were in the goose department.

Late day, after the wind calmed a bit, I took an evening walk at Peers Wetland, Wallaceburg.  A number of birds were tallied, and at the end of my walk, a bright yellow warbler was spotted.  It was a Wilson's, nice to see at this date.


2 comments:

  1. It is surprising how quiet the South Point Trail can be at times, only to come across a little pocket of birds an hour later. I've usually been present the last few times at the wrong hour! But the campground will likely pick up in action, especially as the camping season winds down. Maybe a Mountain Bluebird will finally show up!

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    Replies
    1. I am looking forward to checking out the campground again. It can be quite productive in the fall and into winter. Hopefully it will be active.

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